Bama notebook: Many contributors on offense

TUSCALOOSA — Six different receivers caught touchdown passes from Alabama quarterbacks in the Crimson Tide’s first scrimmage Saturday.

Julio Jones led the team with seven receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Earl Alexander caught five passes for 87 yards and two TDs. H-back Preston Dial had three catches for 60 yards and two scores.

Marquis Maze, Mark Ingram and DeAndrew White all caught touchdown passes in the practice at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Four more players — receivers Brandon Gibson and Kenny Bell and running backs Eddie Lacy and Trent Richardson — caught at least one pass in the workout.

While Greg McElroy and A.J. McCarron had big days, freshman Phillip Sims’ lone touchdown pass was the biggest play from scrimmage. He had a 78-yard touchdown pass to White.

Take your breath away: The passing numbers were impressive. Mark Ingram led the running backs with nine carries for 28 yards and a touchdown. The Heisman Trophy winner also caught three passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.

Ingram also had the wind knocked out of him late in the scrimmage as the team was in a two-minute drill.

“I’m sure that we’ll make a big deal out of that,” head coach Nick Saban quipped to reporters after the scrimmage. “He got the wind knocked out of him. If there’s anything wrong with him, we’ll be the first ones to tell you.”

Ingram’s touchdown run covered one yard. Richardson rushed for a touchdown from 3 yards out. Lacy scored on carries of eight and one yard.

Special teams play: Saban sounded more optimistic about the kicking game than reports of those who saw the scrimmage, which was closed to reporters.

Still, he stressed the need for consistency both from his punters and placekickers.

“I think each punter got five or six live opportunities,” the coach said, referring to Jay Williams and Cody Mandell, both freshmen. “Both guys had two or three good ones and both guys had two or three that probably could have been a little better.”

He said they have talent.

“I think if you watch these guys punt before practice, you’d say, ‘Man, where’d you get those guys?’” Saban said. “But, they’ve got to learn to take that to the game. ... I think it’s just going to be experience with them. And confidence and trusting in the people blocking for them.”

Saban said the placekickers, sophomore Jeremy Shelley and freshman Cade Foster, also need to be more consistent.

“I know we made some long field goals and missed one from 52 or 53. We just missed it. It was plenty long,” he said. “We did a good job of kicking off.”

Shelley, the coach said, has been the most consistent kicker from inside the 25-yard line.
“I think he’s had only one miss the whole camp,” Saban said. “Cade’s got a really strong leg. He’s just got to get a little more consistent with his accuracy. Both those guys have good talent, but it’s the same thing. You’ve got to be able to take it in the game with consistency and confidence.”

Lester’s concussion: Safety Robert Lester sustained a concussion early in Saturday’s practice. Saban said the decision on when he will return isn’t up to the coaching staff.

“We do a really good job here, the tests for concussion guys, when they can come back, when they can start physical exercise as well as contact,” the coach said. “We sort of leave that up to the medical staff. They do a good job of that. We’re hopeful he’ll be back in a couple days. That’s not for us to determine right now.”

What’s next: Alabama players will enjoy their first day off today since camp opened on Aug. 5.

Alabama returns to the field with the final two-a-days session of camp. The Tide works on Monday at 9:30 a.m., then goes again at 7:30 p.m.

Of course, the coaching staff won’t be off today. They’ll be diving into the film from the scrimmage.

Asked about specifics, Saban said he wanted to wait until he saw the film.

“But I don’t think defensively as a whole we played very well at all,” he said. “I don’t think we played good gap control up front, we didn’t tackle, we didn’t clean up tackles and knock runners back. We didn’t have the eye of the Tiger we need to have a good defensive team. And that’s all 11 of them.”